The Beach House

THE BEACH HOUSE By Jane Green – To be Discussed on Wed Sept. 4, 2013 at Geneseo Public library  at 6 PM  

                    

Nan Powell is a free-spirited, sixty-five-year-old widow who's not above skinny-dipping in her neighbors' pools when they're away and who dearly loves her Nantucket home. But when she discovers that the money she thought would last forever is dwindling, she realizes she must make drastic changes to save her beloved house. So Nan takes out an ad: Rooms to rent for the summer in a beautiful old Nantucket home with water views and direct access to the beach.

Slowly people start moving in to the house, filling it with noise, laughter, and with tears. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family and friends expanding. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor turns all their lives upside down.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1.    Nan finds a certain freedom in her old age that most women don't even have in their youth. In what ways can old age be liberating for a woman? Do you know anyone like Nan? Do you hope to be like Nan? 

2.    For Nan, family extends beyond blood relations, from Sarah to the summer guests. Who in your own life do you recognize as family even if you're not related? How and why do these relationships develop? Which relationships are stronger—those we have by birth or those we make during the course of our lives? 

3.    Choose the two characters you found the most compelling and map out their respective journeys through the course of the novel. What were the turning points in their stories? Why did you find these characters the most affecting?  

4.    Daff is conflicted by her love for her daughter and her enjoyment in their spending time apart from each other, and the same feeling, although not as delicately articulated, is clearly true for Jess as well. What is your opinion of Daff as a mother? Have you ever wanted to get away from your own family?  

5.    Identify each character's major flaw as well as his or her most redeeming quality. What examples from the book best illustrate these traits?
 

6.    Discuss the struggle each character experiences with fidelity; remember that fidelity is not only a romantic concern. What does it mean to be faithful? What are the differences (and, sometimes, conflicts) between being faithful to one's self and to another person?

7.    Both Daff and Daniel are returning to the singles scene after being married for many years, although they do so for different reasons. Contrast Daniel's and Daff's first attempts at romance. Does either of their experiences connect with your own?  

8.    Location can have great emotional significance, bringing us back to a memory or helping us become someone new. What does Windermere represent for each of the characters? Is there a place in the world that is meaningful for you in the same way?

9.    Imagine you are writing another chapter of The Beach House that takes place five years after the novel ends. What would you include? What more would you like to know about these characters?

10.   If you could ask Jane Green one question, what would it be?